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California

Harassment claim? Dragging feet creates more trouble

12/21/2010
Courts are losing patience with employers that ignore sexual harassment instead of dealing with it right away.

Coincidence–not conspiracy–explains wage decrease

12/21/2010
When the California Legislature reinstated rules requiring overtime pay for work in excess of eight hours per day back in 1999, some employers thought their labor budgets would skyrocket. Some hospitals found ways to reduce OT costs, either by eliminating 12-hour shifts altogether or simply reducing the hourly pay for those nurses that worked the extended shifts. After more than a decade, a lawsuit over the reductions has been decided.

Terminated employees staging protest? Consider suing to force them to stop

12/21/2010
Here’s a bit of good news for employers that must terminate some of their employees because the IRS says their Social Security numbers are invalid. If they stage an unfair protest against their firings, you can sue them to stop.

You must try to stop harassment–even if it’s clients or customers doing the harassing

12/21/2010

You know you have to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment. If prevention doesn’t work, then you have an obligation to put an end to it. But what if you work in a setting where sexual harassment “comes with the territory”? From the court’s perspective, that doesn’t matter.

L.A. postal facility gets shocking message from OSHA

12/21/2010
OSHA delivered a harsh message to the U.S. Postal Service’s International Service Center in Los Angeles in the form of 18 citations for unsafe working conditions. The problem: Mail processing equipment could cause fatal electrical shocks.

Here’s the right way to recoup training costs

12/21/2010
It’s expensive to train employees, especially if the content is highly specialized. Smart employers protect their investments by getting employees to agree to repay training costs if they leave soon after receiving the valuable benefit. Just don’t mess with the employee’s final paycheck.

Cooperation, patience can stop ADA claims

12/21/2010

Sometimes, supposedly disabled employees try to play their employers by piling on new, incessant demands for reasonable ADA accommodations. For better or worse, it’s often best to just go along, especially if the accommodation won’t cost much. It could keep you out of court.

Unionized? You may be able to use progressive discipline to address some forms of harassment

12/01/2010

If your organization is unionized and operates under a collective bargaining agreement that calls for progressive discipline, think twice before automatically firing an employee you believe has sexually harassed other employees. Unless your contract specifies discharge for a first harassment offense, you may have to follow your progressive discipline program.

Can we withhold pay if employees are late in completing and submitting time cards?

11/19/2010
Q. We have two employees who regularly fail to turn in their time cards on a timely basis. Can we hold off on paying them until they submit their time cards? Can we delay payment until the next pay period?

Are use-it-or-lose-it vacation policies legal?

11/19/2010
Q. My company has a “use it or lose it” vacation policy. Is it lawful for employees who have not taken their vacations at the end of the calendar year to lose them if we have given our employees advance notice of our policy?